Rock Radio Scrapbook

Airchecks: 1966

Talent: BRIAN SKINNER
Station: CHUM Toronto
Date: January 21, 1966
Time: 23:18

(CHUM jocks from late '65 to latter part of 1967; larger view here. Graphic courtesy Dale Johnson)

In 1966, CHUM boasted arguably one of the best lineups in the history of Top 40 radio. But what became of the jocks we enjoyed on CHUM back then?

First to depart from that classic lineup was Dick Hayes (1-4 p.m.). He's retired from radio and living in Michigan.

Next to go were Bob McAdorey (4-7 p.m.), John Spragge (10 a.m.-1 p.m.) and Duff Roman (weekends). They left after the station switched to the Drake format in August, 1968. McAdorey went to CFGM, then to CHFI-AM (which later became CFTR), then back to CFGM in the 1970s. He arrived at Global-TV in the mid-'70s and spent more than a-quarter century there as an entertainment reporter. He died in 2005. Spragge, meanwhile, moved into radio management at CFRB and Talk 640. He died in 2008. Roman later went to CKFH - where he was the morning man and program director - then returned to CHUM in management.

Brian Skinner (7-10 p.m.) left in the summer of 1969. At last word, he was teaching in Seattle. His son, Kori Skinner, was on CHUM for a time in the 1990s.

Bob Laine (midnight-6 a.m.) did his last regular CHUM shift in December, 1969 and did some fill-in work in 1970. He later became program director at CHUM-FM and held a variety of CHUM positions before retiring in 2003 after more than four decades at the station. He's still active at CHUM organizing the station's archives.

Larry Solway (10 p.m.-midnight) did his last talk show on CHUM in 1970, and moved on to other southern Ontario stations.

That leaves Jay Nelson (6-10 a.m.), who did his last CHUM show in December, 1980. He went on to become CITY-TV's weatherman and later had radio gigs at CKFM, CKEY, CJEZ and CKAN, and a position teaching radio at George Brown College in Toronto. He died in 1994.

Hear Brian Skinner here.

(The Charlie Ritenburg Collection)

For more classic CHUM airchecks, visit The CHUM Archives

Subject: "THINGS GO BETTER WITH COKE" COMMERCIALS
Stations: Various
Date: 1960s
Times: Various

As if the jocks, jingles and music weren't enough, even the commercials were memorable on Top 40 radio in the '60s.

Especially outstanding were the ads for Coca-Cola, with the "Things Go Better With Coke" radio ad campaign. The campaign featured top musical artists of the day performing the now-famous "Things Go Better With Coke" jingle, modifying it to their own individual styles. They actually sounded like hit records!

The result was commercial magic. These well-crafted jingles have stood the test of time and still sound fabulous today.

Click on the links to hear a few examples:

Robbie Lane and the Disciples (1:07) *

David Clayton-Thomas and the Shays (1:05) *

Ray Charles (1:02) **

Nancy Sinatra (1:05) **

Freddie Cannon (1:00) **

The Supremes (1:26) **

(The Gary J. Peterson and Donald Major Collections) *

(Scrapbook archives) **

Talent: JERRY GOODWIN
Station: WKNR Dearborn, Mich.
Date: August 23, 1966
Time: 13:36

Radio consultant Mike Joseph had quite a track record of success on his resume when he arrived in Detroit in 1963 to revamp WKMH. Joseph had launched very successful Top 40 formats at two well-known stations: WKBW Buffalo in 1958 and WABC New York in 1960. He had also been successful with Grand Rapids, Mich., station WLAV.

But WKMH presented quite a challenge, even to Joseph. The station languished near the bottom of the ratings with an adult contemporary format known as "Flagship Radio." So Joseph shook things up - a lot.

Taking on three established rock 'n' roll stations in the market (WJBK, WXYZ and CKLW), Joseph launched WKNR "Keener 13" on October 31, 1963. In an era where stations usually eased into new formats, "Keener" went right for the jugular, opening challenging its competition with a promotion called "Battle of the Giants." The renamed station (it got its call letters from founder Fred Knorr) featured a tight 31-song playlist and a host of personality deejays including Mort Crowley, Robin Seymour, Jim Sanders, Gary Stevens, Bob Green, Bill Phillips and Paul Cannon. Add to that the station's great newscasts, contests and production - not to mention the reverb! - and you had a winning combination.

Keener quickly shot to the top of the Detroit ratings charts. From a ratings share of two before the switch, it consistently garnered shares in the 25 to 30 range after. It was a dominance that would last until CKLW introduced the "Drake" format in 1967 and FM grew in popularity after that. Eventually WKNR faded and was replaced by easy-listening WNIC on April 25, 1972, but not before providing nearly a decade of memorable Top 40 radio.

Jerry Goodwin was WKNR's noon-3 p.m. man from 1964 to 1967. Prior to WKNR, he was at KFDA Amarillo, Tex. (1959), KBOX Dallas (1961) and WQAM Miami (1962). In 1968, he moved over to WKNR-FM and in 1969 to WABX. After stops in Toledo (WIOT, 1972) and a return to Detroit (WWWW, 1972) he moved to Boston in 1976 for stints at WCOZ, WBCN, WCGY and WROL.

Goodwin retired from the biz in 1999 but continued to teach radio at the New England Institute of Art.

Hear Jerry Goodwin here.

(The Don Shuttleworth Collection)

Talent: SCOTT MUNI and JOHNNY MICHAELS
Station: WOR-FM New York
Date: October 8, 1966
Time: 31:15

Scott Muni

Progressive rock radio in New York began, oddly enough, without one of the mainstays of the format - disc jockeys.

WOR-FM began playing rock music on July 30, 1966, but because of a AFTRA strike, there were no deejays. Only music, promos, jingles and commercials were played. It would be more than two months - October 8, 1966 - before announcers appeared.

That first day with announcers began with a simulcast of John Gambling's WOR-AM morning show from 6-9 a.m. Then it was Scott Muni 9 a.m.-noon, Johnny Michaels noon-3 p.m., and Muni again 3-6 p.m. Murray the K did 6 p.m.-midnight and Rosko took over from midnight-6 a.m.

While WOR-FM was considered a "progressive rock" station, much of the music on this first day of music with deejays was a grab-bag of Top 40, oldies and album cuts. However, it was much different in approach from the AM stations of the day, more low-key, much looser and relaxed.

WOR-FM only stayed with the progressive rock format for about a year - the Bill Drake "Big Town Sound" (Top 40) debuted on 98.7 in November, 1967. But it helped launch a new era in rock radio.

Hear Scott Muni and Johnny Michaels on WOR-FM here.

(Scrapbook archives)

Talent: JACK ARMSTRONG
Station: WIXY Cleveland
Date: October, 1966
Time: 22:40

Jack Armstrong got his start in his home state of North Carolina, at stations like WCOG Greensboro and WAYS Charlotte. His first out-of-state radio gig was in 1966, at WIXY Cleveland. As he did throughout much of his early career, Armstrong held down the evening shift at "Wixie". He was part of WIXY lineup that included Jerry Brooke, Johnny Canton, Johnny Walters, Al Gates and Bobby Magic - names which echo only in our memories now but which resonated loud and clear at the time.

Hear Jack Armstrong on WIXY here.

(Scrapbook archives)

Subject: Big 93 of 1966
Station: KHJ Los Angeles
Date: December 30, 1966
Time: 39:53

(Johnny Mitchell is shown on this KHJ chart from December 28, 1966/Courtesy Tom Howard)

KHJ's call letters stood for Kindness, Happiness and Joy, and there was plenty of that to go around for the Los Angeles station back in the 1960s.

It was Boss Radio, and its tight format and restrictive playlist garnered huge ratings and a big place in Top 40 radio history. And while deejays were kept on a short rein, a few personalities did develop, most notably Robert W. Morgan and The Real Don Steele. It was memorable, energetic radio that just seems to get better the more we look back on it.

On December 30, 1966, Robert W. Morgan, Frank Terry and Gary Mack and the other KHJ jocks counted down the Big 93 of 1966.

You can hear it here.

(The Tom Howard Collection)

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